Tag: Octo Octa

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

With the 2015 release of his debut effort Patterns, the now, Berlin-based electronic music artist and producer Mark Dobson and his solo recording project Ambassadeurs has received both national and international attention for a sound that draws from house music, hip-hop, dub, trip-hop, jazz and drum ‘n’ bass in a unique fashion. And as a result of his signature sound, Dobson quickly became a go-to producer, with the prolific producer and electronic music artist releasing work through a number of renowned labels including Tru Thoughts, Ninja Tune, Moshi Moshi, Fat Cat, Wah Wah 45s, Universal, and Rough Trade, while heading his own label, Lost Tribe Records and releasing a number of free singles for his rapidly growing fanbase.

Now, if you were frequenting this site towards the end of last year, you may recall that I wrote about “Halos,” a song that was written and recorded during a vacation in the country — and in some way, that vacation deeply influenced the track and its sound, as it was arguably one of the more organic singles the British producer has released to date as swirling electronics, soulful vocal samples and warm bursts of strings and twinkling keys were paired together in a song that seemed to be equally influenced by Peter Gabriel‘s  “Shock the Monkey” and “Biko,” as it is by house music as the song managed to be atmospheric and melodic, while possessing a cinematic quality.

Although Dobson is reportedly in the studio working on the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2015’s Pattern, he recently released the “Higher”/”Rapture” single reveals a producer and artist who has boldly pushed his sound into new and interesting directions. “Higher” is a slick and propulsive, house music-leaning production that pairs swirling electronics, gently chopped up vocal samples ethereally floating over dense and cascading layers of synths, skittering and stuttering drum programming and wobbling, tweeter and woofer rocking beats to craft a song that feels simultaneously intimate and cinematic, gorgeous yet hauntingly eerie. “Rapture” may be the most straightforward house music song the now Berlin-based producer has released to date as dense layers arpeggio synth stabs are paired with an eerie melody reminiscent of John Carpenter and Kraftwerk, along with propulsive, cymbal clap-led drum programming and a soulful vocal sample bubbling up and through the mix. Interestingly, sonically speaking “Rapture” reminds me quite of an uptempo version of Snap!‘s “Rhythm Is A Dancer” and Octo Octa‘s “Please Don’t Leave,” “His Kiss,” and “Work Me” which I think will further cement Dobson’s reputation for crafting thoughtful, dance floor-friendly house music.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the 2013 release of Forget Your Future and its follow-up Real Virtual Unison Richmond, VA-born, Ridgewood, NY-based electronic music artist and producer Lindsey French and her solo recording project Negative Gemini exploded on to the national scene as she received critical praise from the likes of Gorilla vs Bear, Pigeons and Planes, KEXP and others, and she even gained recognition from FACT Magazine‘s 20 Best Bandcamp Releases of 2015. Adding to a growing profile, French released “You Never Knew,” which was was the Best Songs of 2015 lists of Pigeons and Planes and Gorilla vs. Bear and “Body Work,” which was released earlier this year received praise from NYLON, The 405, Earmilk and was adding to NPR’s “Songs We Love” playlist.

“Nu Hope,” the latest single off her forthcoming sophomore full-length release Body Work is the first completely instrumental track French has ever released and the track may arguably be the most straight-forward, club-friendly track she’s ever released as cascading layers of shimmering synths are paired with propulsive drum programming and ambient electronics to craft a sound that’s reminiscent of Octo Octa‘s Between Both Sides — or in other words, carefully crafted and moody house music that sounds as though it could have been released in 1988 as well as now.

 

 

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

February 2016’s JOVM Spotify playlist will likely continue the wild variety I’m so proud of but with a number of mainstay artists including tracks by Victoria + Jean, Anna Rose, Rene Lopez, Anika, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Gosh Pith, Marco Benevento, New Order, Boulevards, Mavis Staples, Sofi Tukker, Charles Bradley, Majid Jordan, La Sera, Pr0files, Atmosphere, We Are Temporary, Beacon, Elephant Stone, Caveman, Octo Octa and several others who you’ve become familiar with through this site. But you’ll also come across a couple of tracks from one of my favorite new artists of the year, Sophie and the Bom Boms, some classic blues from Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and George Thorogood, porto-metal and stoner rock and countless more. Check it out!

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past two or three years or so, you may recall that I wrote about Colchester, UK-based electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist Dominc Gentry. Originally starting his career with his solo writing and recording project Attaque, the British multi-instrumentalist and producer has had a rather interesting career trajectory — he initially wrote and produced hard techno singles released to critically praise through some of the world’s renowned electronic music labels including Kitsune, Boys Noize, Turbo and others. However, with the release of his acclaimed full-length Only You — in particular, album single “Only You” — Gentry’s sound had gone through a decided change of sonic direction with his sound becoming breezily ethereal and atmospheric in a fashion that reminded me quite a bit of Octo Octa’s impressive Between Both Sides. 

Gentry spent the better part of 2015 touring to support Only You — playing Secret Garden Party and London’s renowned club KOKO among countless others; however, after last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris, Gentry felt it was inappropriate to continue with the Attaque moniker and decided it was time for a new direction. And so he starts off 2016 with his latest project Light Falls.

“Prism” the latest single from the British producer pairs shimmering and bubbling cascades of synths with distorted and chopped up vocal samples and stuttering drum programming in a hyper-modern, sleek and sinuous club banger that reminds me quite a bit of the aforementioned Octo Octa’s Between Both Sides and Snap!‘s “Rhythm Is A Dancer,” as the song possesses a swooning Romanticism.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Up-and-coming Australian producer and electronic music artist Arona Mane has developed a reputation across their homeland for a sound that is heavily indebted to 80s synth pop, funk and sultry, classic house music in a production consisting of finger-snap led percussion, undulating synths, warm blasts of horns, propulsive drumming, sinuous bass and guitar lines paired with distorted yet soulful vocal samples as you’ll hear on “Things You Do,” a single that got recently got its first airplay on Australia’s biggest radio station, Triple J.

And although the single reportedly draws from French house and early German electronic music, sonically the song reminds me quite a bit of Octo Octa‘s Between Two Selves, as Arona Mane specializes in a similar, soulful electronic music.  

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Wistful and Heartbreaking Video for Caribou’s “Can’t Do Without You”

Dan Snaith can trace the origins of his solo recording project Caribou to the theft of an unused sampler from his high school’s music department program. Snaith originally began writing and recording under the moniker Manitoba — that […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the course of 2015, you may recall that I wrote about  Berlin, Germany-based producer, electronic music artist and DJ Lennart Richter. Prolifically releasing a series of singles through renowned electronic music labels Sleazy G, East Project, G-Mafia Records, GUN PWDR, Ensis Records, Blue Dye, Mondal Recordings and others, Richter quickly developed a reputation across his native Germany and internationally for exploring the gamut of electronic music subgenres including deep house, G house, nu-disco and several others with a slick, crowd-pleasing, club-rocking production. And as a result, Richter can claim several Beatport Top 25 releases under his belt, and his last EP, Berlin Brawling landed at #10 on the Beatport Indie Dance/Nu Disco Charts.

The Berlin-based electronic music artist, producer and DJ closed out 2015 with the release of “Hold Up,” a nu-disco and house track comprised of layers of shimmering and cascading synths, propulsive drum programming led by explosive cymbal shots and a looped vocal sample that comes in and out of the haze. Sonically, the song reminds me quite a bit of Octo Octa’s “His Kiss” an “Please Don’t Leave” off his fantastic Between Two Selves — or in other words, it manages to possess both a bracing iciness and a thoughtful soulfulness.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Mark Dobson, the creative mastermind behind the British electronic music sensation Ambassadeurs has developed a reputation as a producer and electronic music artist for a sound that employs the use of samples that have been processed beyond recognition and that’s informed by dub, hip-hop, jazz, and drum ‘n’ bass. And as result of his signature sound and production style, Dobson has also become a go-to producer as he’s done work for a number of renowned labels including Tru Thoughts, Ninja Tune, Moshi Moshi, Fat Cat, Wah Wah 45s, Universal, and Rough Trade — all while heading his own label, Lost Tribe Records and releasing a number of free singles for his rapidly growing fanbase. (He currently has 35,000 followers and his singles on SoundCloud have exceeded over 7 million plays.)

Dobson has received airplay from several BBC Radio 1 personalities,  as well as praise from the likes of The Fader, Mixmag, Vice, i-D, Clash, XLR8R and others, and as a result he has opened for the likes of renowned artists such as  ODESZA, Machinedrum, The Gas Lamp Killer, Danny Brown, Gold Panda, Daedelus and Kelpe, had a 15 date co-headline tour across North America with Daktyl and played at festivals such as Hard Day Of The Dead, Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, and The Sound You Need Festival.

2015 has been a rather busy and prolific year for the London-based electronic music artist and producer as his debut effort Patterns was released to critical praise earlier this year, along with a number of EPs. Building up on the increasing buzz and serving as a teaser for his forthcoming 2016 efforts, Dobson recently released his latest single “Halos,” which was written and recorded during a vacation in the country — and in some way that vacation has influenced the single’s sound as it is reportedly much more organic than his previously released work as layers of staccato synths are paired with skittering drum programming, swirling electronics and soulful vocal samples with warm bursts of strings and twinkling keys. Sonically, the song seems to be equally influenced by Peter Gabriel (think of “Shock the Monkey” and “Biko“) as it is by house music; as I listened to the song I was reminded of Octo Octa‘s Between Two Selves. In other words, the material manages to be atmospheric and melodic, while possessing a cinematic quality.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Producer, DJ and electronic music artist Paris-born and Italian-based Idriss D has spent more than a decade at the forefront of Italian electronic dance music with the release of a string of commercially and critically successful EPs and singles — and as one of the best known DJs and producers as he’s played in some of his country’s most renowned clubs and music venues including Echoes, Cocorico and Red Zone.

After a chance meeting with Berlin-based Fabrizio Maurizi in 2006, the pair founded Memento Records, a forward thinking electronic music label that has released work from up-and-coming and cult-status producers and artists such as Luciano, Paco Osuna, Argy, Tom Clark, Okain and others.  Idriss D’s long-awaited full-length debut Amalgamation is slated for a December 18 release is inspired from the Italian-based DJ and producer’s desire to bring together his life experiences over the last couple of years as he’s become something of an authoritative voice in Italy’s club scene.

Amalgamation‘s first single and album opening track “Transition” is an incredibly nuanced song consisting of skittering drum programming, undulating synths, electronic clicks, bloops and beeps and big thumping bass, and sonically it possesses the same hazy and dream-like feel of Octo Octa‘s Between Two Selves — in particular, “Please Don’t Leave.” And much like Octo Octa’s impressive 2013 full-length, the song is an atmospheric and carefully constructed and yet propulsive and dance-floor ready.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Tale Of Us is a Berlin-based production and electronic music artist duo comprised of Carmine Conte and Matteo Milleri. And over the course of the past five years, the duo of Conte and Milleri have developed an internationally recognized reputation for material that possesses an exacting precision (they’ve been known to discard hundreds of tracks in their search for the perfect beat, the perfect sound) and for techno that’s deeply emotive.

“North Star,” the the first single off their double A side “North Star”/”Silent Space” consists of layers of shimmering and undulating synths, tweeter and woofer rocking low end, skittering percussion to craft a song that’s reminiscent of both Snap!‘s “Rhythm Is A Dancer” and Octo Octa‘s “Please Don’t Leave” in the sense that all three songs are atmospheric yet carefully composed club bangers in which, notes are never wasted.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Robin Paul Braum is a Berlin, Germany-born, London-based electronic music artist and producer, best known in electronic music circles under the moniker of Ballerino. He’s also a founding member of the London-based production and artistic collective squareglass, a collective known for a focus on unconventional production techniques. As a solo artist, Braum has developed a reputation for hypnotic house music with an artsy sheen.

Much like A side side “Wet,” it’s B side “Coward” according to Braum delves into something that would be familiar for all of us — desperate, embarrassing crushes, the fact that most of the time love is either unrequited or unwanted and the fact that love at first sight is often an illusion.  The production reportedly pays homage to house music’s origins as the song is comprised of shuffling and wobbling bass line, undulating synths ebbing and flowing about the bass, skittering and stuttering drum programming, led by hot, explosive blasts of cymbal and a chopped up vocal sample that reminds me of the fluid production style of Octo Octa‘s Between Both Selves  — in particular “Please Don’t Leave” and “Work Me.” And from the release of this single, Braum adds himself to a list of producers creating carefully crafted house music and electronic music that is clearly artistic, but hasn’t forgotten how to move a crowd.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Summery and Ethereal Sound of Clas Tuuth’s Latest Single “Air”

Clas Tuuth is an up-and-coming London-based producer, who first came to the attention of the British electronic music scene with the release of a remix of Rozi Plain’s “See My Boat,” which received radio airplay […]

EP Stream by William Ruben Helms

EP Stream: Introducing Iowa’s Blookah and His Slickly Produced and Seamless Debut EP, “Blind Spot”

Blookah is an Iowa-based musician, producer and electronic music artist who has developed a laid-back, chilled-out sound that draws from old school, boom-bap-era hip-hop production, soul music, jazz,  and drum ‘n’ bass and has been […]

indie electronica by William Ruben Helms

EP Stream: Edu Imbernon and DROOG’s Forward-Thinking Yet Accessible Spectral

Edu Imbernon is a Valencia, Spain-based songwriter, producer, remixer, DJ and head of renowned indie electronica label Eklektisch Records. Imbernon has received international attention for a sound that possesses of electronica, house music, and pop — […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Danny White and Steven Mudd, the electro pop duo of Golden Coast met in college while individually producing and writing for a number of artists before deciding to team up and collaborate on […]